Cool Editorial Staff

Science’s Signals – Week 45

Hereby we present you this week’s selection from our most valuable filters. With stories from amongst others The Economist, Gizmodo, NY Times, Wired, The Atlantic about elections in China and the USA, the gamification of life, paying with(out) cards and going bionic with a terminator arm.

Elections: USA vs. China
Without any doubt we can say that the headlines were dominated by elections. Last Tuesday the ‘Romney vs. Obama’ battle reached its climax. Resulting in Four More Years. Four difficult years, so we’ve read in many analyses. Best cover this week? The Economist, by far. Social media history + realism equals creativity: Now Hug a Republican.

One of the first things on Obama’s to-do list had to be congratulating Xi Jinping, the new leader of the Peoples Republic of China. What does this changing of the guard mean, for China and the rest of the world? How many votes where needed for Jingping’s election remains a bit of a mystery. Obama on the other hand might had the advantage of Facebook: ‘everybody’s doing it’, as the Atlantic tells us. Or was it Buyral?

Buyral Professional Clicking

Pick Up Points & Health to Go
We wrote about ‘pick up points’ before. There’s more, according to Gizmodo: Staples is getting Amazon lockers. This forces us to go out from time to time, but makes our e-buying more flexible too. Much needed, because the reasons to stay at home are increasing: Wired writes about an app that helps you ‘read your heart’ and the first e-health programs in the Netherlands have been certified, allowing caretakers to work from a distance. While kids become more mindful, we prefer going Bionic:

‘Terminator Arm’

The Gamification of Life
The Economist confirms something we know: video games are the latest fad in management. Or should we call it: the gamification of life? Have a look at Curiosity, the -social- game with only one winner for IOS and Android. Released this week and yet over 160.000 players joined. Warning, it’s quite addictive! Maybe even more curious is the exhibition ‘On Space Time Foam’, created by artist Tomás Saraceno. Less serious, more social is ‘Jam with Chrome’, which allows you to play music live with your friends.

The Weekend
In case you go out (in the near future): bring your Display card with LCD screen and interactive buttons. Or pay with a Google Wallet card. Or just touch the pay desk and leave.
In case you’re staying at home: use IKEA’s I Start (Dutch) program to become a successful entrepreneur in 100 steps. A book we’ve added to our reading list is Factory Towns of South China. May we suggest you visit our library often? Or read the review by Pop Up City here.